In the Interim
by annabel-lee1
Summary: (Complete) A little something to fill the void between AHBL and CA.
1. Hell

A/N: This is what I've come up with to fill the gap between "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "Charmed Again." Hope y'all enjoy. Reviews would be much appreciated. 

* * *

Phoebe stood up slowly. "I feel dizzy..."

Cole nodded. "You just moved backward through time, but kept your memory. That's to be expected."

"I've gotta get to them, now that the reset's done," Leo said. "I'm not sure what time it is exactly and when you called me last time, Phoebe, it was already almost too late." A blue light began to envelop him.

"I wouldn't do that," said a voice from behind Leo.

"No!" cried out Cole.

The Whitelighter paused in mid-orb, and allowed his form to coalesce again in the Underworld. He turned around, and the sight before his eyes gave him a sick feeling. The Source had his sword pointed at Phoebe's neck, and flames surrounded them. Cole had conjured up a massive energy ball, fueled by his love for Phoebe and his rage against the Source for his trickery, but hadn't thrown it.

"You can't rescue her," the Source said tauntingly to Leo, "because you know that my flames are the source of Darklighter poison. And if you orb out to save her sisters, you know I'll take her life. And Belthazor, if you throw that energy ball, you'll kill me, but I'll kill her as soon as your hand moves. Either way, the Power of Three is destroyed. Either way..." He paused, looking first at Cole, then at Leo with a menacing glare before he continued, "...I win."

Leo could feel his heart breaking.

"Leo, save them," Phoebe begged. "There's two of them, they'll figure out a way to get me."

Leo and Cole stared at each other helplessly. Suddenly, Leo heard the Source's chilling voice inside his head. _"I can read your mind. Your...Whitelighter telepathy...cannot save you. I win."_

The four of them stood there as if frozen.

* * *

"Prue? Prue! Oh, no, Prue..."

Prue was confused. She felt as if she were floating. Her memory was somewhat hazy, and she wasn't sure where she was. She could sense a familiar figure near her. The voice she heard was Andy's, but as the figure came into focus, the face was someone else's. His eyes looked into hers, and she could see his compassion. When he spoke, she heard his voice in her mind, a softly-accented, oddly familiar voice.

"You understand now why you shouldn't be afraid of me, why you can't fight me?"

"Yes," she whispered. She realized, to her surprise, that she was standing up, and suddenly she could see Andy. With a shock, she saw her own body as well...and Piper's. "It's my time, isn't it?" she asked Death.

He nodded once. "It is."

"Is it Piper's? Please, not Piper!"


	2. Healing

"It was meant to be Piper's time," Death told Prue. "But you sacrificed yourself for her, and that sacrifice has saved her. But Evil may try to cheat that bargain." He inclined his head toward Andy, who was kneeling beside Prue's body, his hands spread over her wounds.

"Prue! Prue, come on, I broke every rule in the world to get here, you can NOT die on me now, dammit!"

Prue gazed at him tenderly. "Andy..."

He stiffened and looked up, and slowly was able to see Prue's spectral form. "Oh, Prue, no..." His voice trailed off, brokenly.

"Andy, it's okay, it's my time. But Piper -- you have to heal Piper, please."

Weeping unashamedly, Andy turned and spread his hands over Piper. The familiar healing glow of a Whitelighter spread out from his hands, and Piper's wounds began to close.

* * *

The tableau in the Underworld remained motionless. It seemed to Leo, Cole, and Phoebe that they had been standing there forever. Wordless communication -- hardly communication at all, just a shared understanding -- passed between Cole and Leo. They knew they could not coordinate a strike telepathically, as the Source had proven that would be useless. But in desperation, both men realized that they could no longer wait passively as the Source destroyed the loves of each of their lives, along with two other women each of them loved like sisters.

Suddenly, without warning and so fast it was hardly a blur of motion, Cole morphed into his demon form, snatched Phoebe from the Source's grasp, and shimmered out, as Leo orbed back to the manor. The Source was left alone in the Underworld, howling in desperation.

* * *

"It is time," Death announced. "Come, I must take you."

"Leo's coming," said Andy. "I can't be seen here, Piper's out of immediate danger. Let me go with her, please? It's been so long..."

Death nodded, acquiescing. He and Andy each reached out a hand to Prue. She took their hands, understanding at last what it meant to be "at peace," and the three of them faded from view.

* * *

Leo orbed into the manor just as Cole shimmered in with Phoebe. "Oh, no," whispered Phoebe.

Not pausing to think, or even begin to comprehend the awful scene before him, Leo first checked Dr. Griffiths, the innocent. He was clearly dead, and Leo reached out and closed the doctor's eyes.

Turning on his heel, Leo approached Prue and Piper. He could see at a glance that Prue's injuries were worse. Grabbing her wrist, he couldn't find a pulse. He could see she wasn't breathing, but he held his hands over her, trying to heal her.

Nothing happened.

Cole gently tapped his shoulder. "She's gone. You have to save Piper. And I have to get out of here. The Source is going to send everyone he's got after me." He shimmered out, after leaving a sobbing Phoebe on the couch.

Leo nodded at Cole's words, and held his hands over his wife's body. A golden glow emanated from him, and the blood flowed back into Piper, and the wounds -- and her clothes -- knit themselves up. After what seemed an eternity, Piper groaned.

"Hey," Leo said softly.

"What happened?" asked Piper, weakly.

"Shhh, don't try to talk yet. You were pretty far gone, you need to rest to get your strength back." Leo carefully blocked Piper's view so she wouldn't be able to see her sister's lifeless body. "Here, let me take you to bed," he said gently, wrapping Piper in his arms. He orbed her up to their bedroom and tucked her in. He came back down the stairs to find Phoebe still weeping on the couch.

"You did everything you could," Phoebe said, through her tears.

"And she died anyway," Leo said heavily. "You should get some rest," he instructed. Phoebe nodded her assent, and walked slowly up the stairs. Leo waited until he heard Phoebe's door close, then sank to his knees on the living room floor.

He stared up at the ceiling accusingly. "How? HOW? How could this happen? I lost a charge. I lost a _Charmed One_. I lost my _SISTER-IN-LAW_! How could you let this happen?"

Sobbing uncontrollably, Leo didn't notice the swirl of orbs behind him.


	3. History

"Leo, you did all you could."

"Who are you? I don't care, go away," Leo said angrily, not even turning to see who had entered the room.

"Leo, you did all you could," repeated the stranger. "This isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself."

"I let her _die_!" Leo shouted. "How is that not my fault? I'm her Whitelighter, I'm supposed to heal her, guard her, _save_ her!" Finally whirling around to confront whomever it was who'd dared intrude on his grief, Leo glared at the young man standing before him. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"You didn't let her die. She was dead when you got here. You couldn't have saved her, the Source saw to that. The deal that was struck exchanged one life for another. Prue knew that, even though you didn't."

"This is the third time, and I won't ask you again. WHO. ARE. YOU?" Leo demanded.

"My name is Andy Trudeau. I grew up with the Halliwells. I fell in love with Prue when I was, I don't know, six, maybe? We lost touch, but then when she moved back to the manor, we got together again. I was a cop. She told me her...'secret,' and I freaked out. And then a demon killed me," Andy explained.

"So you're a Whitelighter now? Lemme tell you, don't waste your time," Leo said bitterly.

"It's not a waste of time," Andy replied. "You saved Piper, and the bond of love you and Cole each have for the sisters let him save Phoebe, too. You've done so much good. You can't give up now."

"Yeah, what do you know? I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. And if you're a Whitelighter, why don't I know you?"

Andy looked away. "I'm not exactly a regular Whitelighter. I've been given a...special assignment."

"I guard the _Charmed Ones_, hadn't you noticed? What are you talking about, 'special assignment'?" Leo demanded.

Andy shook his head. "It's not for you to know...yet. But you will, I'm certain of it."

"Oh yeah? I'm certain I won't. I quit," Leo said angrily. Glaring at the ceiling again, he shouted, "You hear me? I QUIT! You wanna break the Power of Three after everything they've done for you, fine. I _QUIT_!" he bellowed.

Andy didn't even flinch. "You can't quit."

"Well, I just did," Leo snapped, heading toward the door.

"You're just going to walk out on your wife? And your sister-in-law? Leo, they need you now more than they've ever needed you before," Andy said.

"Well, They should have thought of that before letting Prue die," said Leo, motioning upward.

"Leo, it was her time," said Andy softly. "It was her time. She knew it, she understood, she accepted it. You have to do the same. The Charmed Ones' destiny isn't over. It's changed, but it isn't over."

"Don't you get it?" cried Leo. "There _are_ no Charmed Ones anymore! The Charmed Ones are three sisters. One of those sisters is _dead_ now, because I wasn't fast enough, and the Power of Three is gone!"

"No, it isn't," Andy countered. 

Leo looked at him in shock. "What?"

Andy glanced around. "I'm going to show you something." With a wave of his hand, he conjured up a crystal ball. "Look inside."

The swirling mists inside the crystal cleared, revealing --

"Patty?" asked Leo. Andy nodded. Patty was talking to someone; Leo recognized him as Sam, Patty's Whitelighter. The mists blurred and cleared again, and Patty was shown again, visibly pregnant, as three little girls played inside the manor. Leo shook his head, as if to clear it, and blinked rapidly. "What --"

"Just watch," said Andy.

A new scene appeared in the crystal ball: Patty giving birth. The baby arrived in a swirl of orbs. Sam wrapped the child in a blanket and handed the bundle to Patty, who was crying. She kissed the baby's head, handed her back to Sam, and turned away.

The next scene in the crystal ball showed Patty and Sam orbing into a church, carrying their daughter, talking to a nun. With a final kiss from each of her parents, the child was handed to the nun, and Patty and Sam orbed out of the church.

Once again, mists swirled over the scene, clearing to reveal a pale young woman with dark black hair. Her image blurred and faded after a moment, and the crystal ball turned pearly white.

Leo turned to Andy, dumbstruck. "Is she --"

"Another sister? Yes. Her name is Paige. They'll find her soon. The Charmed Ones have a greater destiny to fulfill than you or I can imagine. They aren't finished yet, not by a long shot. But you're not supposed to know any of this. I'm sorry to have to do this to you..."

Andy sprinkled some memory dust over Leo. "It will be okay, that's all you know for now," he said quietly, and orbed out.

Leo blinked. He was standing in the middle of the living room, and wasn't quite sure how that had happened. The last thing he remembered was kneeling on the floor, raging against the Elders. He still felt grief, but his rage had subsided, somehow. With a heavy heart, he started up the stairs to join Piper in bed. In the morning, when she had rested and finished recovering from the injuries she'd sustained while fighting Shax, he would tell her about Prue. _Best to let her get one more night of sleep before continuing her destiny_, he thought to himself.


End file.
